Lock cylinder



Oct. 4, 1966 J. J. BOURGEOIS LOOK CYLINDER Filed Sept. 25, 1965 United States Patent O 3,276,232 LOCK CYLINDER John J. Bourgeois, Southington, Conn., assignor to Emhart Corporation, a corporation of Connecticut Filed Sept. 25, 1963, 5er. No. 311,447 12 Claims. (Cl. 70-370) This invention relates to lock cylinders and is particularly concerned with lock cylinders of the type adapted to be inserted in an opening in the face of a door for operating a door lock.

While lock cylinders embodying the present invention have a wide variety of practical applications, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the ensuing description, they are especially useful in conjunction with door locks of the well-known mortise type.

Mortiselocks generally include a narrow casing which hou-ses a lock mechanism and is adapted to be inounted in a recess or mortise formed in the edge of a door. The casing contains a threaded hole in one or both sides thereof for the reception of a lock cylinder, and the face of the door adjacent each such hole -is provided with an opening in alignment therewith to accommodate the lock cylinder and permit attachment thereof to saidcasing.

The lock cylinders heretofore provided for use with mortise-locks u-sually have been of the wellknown pintumbler type. In their most common form, such lock cylinders comprise a unitary body -of cylindrical configuration having an externally threaded portion at its inner end adapted to be screwed into the threaded hole in the Casing of the door lock. At its outer end, the cylinder body has an integral escutcheon or head of enlarged diameter defining an inwardly facing annular flange on the cylinder body adapted to lie flush against the marginal portions of the opening in the face of the door to thereby conceal said opening. A key-plug is mounted to rotate in the cylinder body and at its inner end carries a cam or equivalent elernent for operating the mechanism of the door lock. The cylinder body and the keyplug contain a series of tumbler elements which control the operation of the keyplug and, in order to provide sufficient space in the cylinder body for the tumbler elements carried thereby, the key-plug is usually located eccentrically therein.

Mortise-lock cylinders are generally furnished in several difierent lengths to fit doors of different thicknesses and are installed by inserting the threaded end of the cylinder body through the opening in the face of the door and screwing it into the case of the door lock until the flange on the cylinder body -is snugly engaged with the face of the door. In order to insure proper operation of the lock cylinder and provide an installation of neat and attractive appearance, the final location of the key-plug must be such that its axis is disposed below and in vertical alignment with the axis of the cylinder body. On all too frequent occasions, however, variations in door thickness, improper installation of the mortiselock or other factors make it very ditficult to properly orient the key-plug. In most snch situations it is found that when the fiange on the cylinder body is seated against the face of the door, the key-plug will lie to the right or the left of its prescribed bottom dead Center position. Hence, it is then necessary to either over-tighten the cylinder or back-it-otf in order to properly position the key-plug.

The former alternative entails the risk of damaging the cylinder, the door lock or the door and the latter usually results in an unsightly space between the cylinder es-.

cutcheon and the door. Flexible cylinder collars have been devised in an effort to obviate these diflicultes, but the range of adjustment permitted by such collars is quite limited. Moreover, such collars tend to emphasize any .misalignnent of the escutcheon and they have not, therefore, proven to be entirely satisfactory.

It is therefore the primary object of the present invention to provide a look cylinder in which the cylinder body and the escutcheon are relatively axially movable so that the eflective length of the cylinder may vary during installation to permit proper positioning of the keyplug without the escutcheon being too tight or too loose on the door.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a lock cylinder having a cylinder body which is adapted to be threaded into the casing of a door lock and carries an escutcheon relatively to which said body is movable after the escutcheon engages the face of a door to permit such further rotation of the cylinder as is necessary to properly orient the key-plug.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a lock cylinder having a movable escutcheon adapted to compensate for any misalignment of the cylinder so that the escutcheon will always lie flush against the face of the door.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a lock cylinder in which the cylinder body may move axially relatively to the escutcheon during installation, but in which means are provided for yieldingly resisting such movement so that the escutcheon will be retained snugly against the face of the door at all times.

Another and very important object of the present invention is to provide a lock cylinder construction which permits the use of escutcheons of different designs on a standard lock cylinder body.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, which, by the way 'of preferred example only, illustrates certain specific embodiments of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings: FIG. 1 is an elevational front view of a lock cylinder embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an elevational side view thereof. FIG. 3 is an elevational rear view of said lock cylinder. FIG. 4 is an enlarged side view of said lock cylinder with portions thereof shown in central vertical section.

FIG. 5 is a sectional end view taken on line 55 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a sectional plan view taken on line 66 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a similar view, but showing the lock cylinder as it might be mounted on a door containing a mortiselock.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary, sectional, plan view taken on line 88 of FIG. 5 and further illustrafing the construction of my novel lock cylinder.

FIG. 9 is a sectional plan view similar to FIG. 6, but illustrating a modified form of the present invention.

In the preferred embodiments of the present invention illustrated in the drawing, my novel lock cylinder includes a cylinder body 5 of generally cylindrical shape having subst-antially fiat inner and outer end surfaces 6 and 7,

respectively. The inner end portion of the cylinder body 5 is externally threaded, as indicated at 8, t0 permit attac{hment thereof .to the casing of a door lock as will be hereinafter desoribed. Adjacent its outer end, the body is provided with a pair of opposed, transverse notohes 99 which open to the periphery thereof and define lateral webs 1010 et the outer end of said body. .As is common in lock cylinders of this type, a pair of diametrically opposed, longitudinally extending grooves 11-l1 are formed in the periphery of the cylinder body for the reception et a set screw normally provided in the casing of the door lock for securing the cylinder against rotation.

The cylinder body 5 contains a longitudinally extending through-bore 12 in which a keyplug 13 is mounted to rotate. The keyplug has an enlarged head 14 at its outer end defining an annular shoulder 15 thereon which engages the end-face of an annular boss 16 projecting from the outer end of the cylinder body and surrounding the bore 12, said boss being of a larger diameter than the head 14 as best shown in FIGS. 4 and 8. A conventional cm 17 is non-rotatably aflixed to the inner end of the key-plug and overlies the inner end of the cylinder body, said cam and the shoulder 15 retaining the key-plug in operative position in the bore 12.

In accordance With conventional practice, the cylinder body and the keyplug are each provided with a row of longitudinally spaced, radially extending, tumbler bores 18 and 19, respectively, which are aligned in the normal locked position of said key-plug and contain a plurality of tumbler elements, indicated generally at 20, for controlling the operation of the keyplug. The key-plug is provided With the usual keyway 13-a into which a properly bitted key may be inserted to align the tumbler elements to thereby permit rotation of the key-plug. It will be noted that in order to provide suflicient space in the cylinder body for the tumbler elements and springs, the key-plug is disposed eocentrically in the cylinder body.

The present invention contemplates the provision of an extremely novel escutcheon for cylinder bodies of the above-described type that will completely overcome the problems heretofore encountered in the installation of conventional lock cylinders.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1 t0 8, my novel escutcheon comprises a circular member 21 of generally cup-shaped configuration having an outer wall 22 and a tapered, annular, side wall 23 which extends inwardly from the outer wall and terminates in a substantially fiat, radially extending, abutment surface 24. A pair of studs 25-25 are soldered or otherwise 'afiixed to the inner side of the wall 22 in spaced, symmetr-ical relationship and project inwardly therefrom in an axial direction. Said studs extend through holes 26-26 .ormed in the webs -10 on the cylinder body and into the notches 99, and the inner end portion of each stud is surrounded by a compression spring 27 which is disposed between the inner side of the respective web 10 and a retaining ring 28 that is detachably secured to the stud. The springs 27-27 bias the escutcheon and the cylinder body in opposite directions and normally yieldingly retain the inner face of the wall 22 in engagement with the outer end surface 7 of said cylinder body as shown in FIGS. 4, 6 and 8. When the escutcheon and the cylinder body are assembled, the side Wall 23 surrounds and conceals the outer end portion of the body and the surface 24 provides an inwardly facing flange thereon for engagement with the face of a door. While the lock cylinder possesses all of the conventional characteristics, it will be apparent that the escutcheon and the cylinder body are actually separate nuits adapted for relative axial movement. In addition, the holes 26-26 are prefenably made larger than the studs to permit relative angular movement of the escutcheon and the cylinder body for a purpose that will become apparent as the description proceeds.

Referring again to FIGS. 4 and 8, the outer wall 22 of the escutcheon contains a hole 29 through which the head 14 of the keyplug projects and said hole is counterbored, as at 30, for the reception of the annular boss 16 on the cylinder body. Said boss 16 provides 2. guide member on the cylinder body which maintains said body and the escutcheon in proper alignment and prevents the side of the hole 29 in the escutcheon from bind-ing on the key-plug and interfering with the rotation thereof.

In FIGURE 7 of the drawing I have illustrated my novel lock cylinder as it might be installed on a door containing a conventional mortiselock. Said door, indicated at 3 1, is provided with a recess or mortise 32 which extends inwardly from the free edge 3-3 thereof and is adapted to receive the -casing of the mbrtiselock indicated generally by the numeral 34. Said casing houses a lock mechanism, not shown, and has a side wall 35 containing a threaded hole 36 for receiving a lock cylinder. The door 31 has an opening 37 formed in the face 38 thereof in alignment With the threaded hole 36 and said opening 37 is slightly larger than the diameter of the body of the lock cylinder.

My novel lock cylinder is mounted in operative position on the door in the conventional manner by simply inserting the inner end of the cylinder body 5 into the opening 37 in the door and screwing it into the threaded hole 36 in the casing of the door lock until the flange 24 on the escutcheon 21 engages the face 38 of the door. At this point, the keyplug will most likely be located in other than its prescribed botte-m dead -center position illustrated in FIG. 1. This presents absolutely no problem, however, since my novel construction permits further rotation of the cylinder t0 properly orient the keyplug without causing excessive tightness of the escutcheon against the door. The extent of additional rotation required to properly locate the keyplug depends primarily on how much the door varies from its nominal thickness and the accuracy with which the door lock was installed. In any event, as the lock cylinder is rotated further, the cylinder body will move axially inwardly and away from the escutcheon a-gainst the bias of the springs 27-27 as shown in FIG. 7. It will be apparent that the springs 27-27 will thereafter urge the escutcheon snugly against the face of the door to prevent any looseness thereof which might result in annoying rattles or the presence of an unsightly space between the escutcheon and the door. Since the studs 25-25 fit loosely in the holes 26-26, the escutcheon is also capable of assuming an angular position With respect to the axis of the cylinder body and will therefore compensate for any misalignment of the cylinder body resulting from improper installation of the door lock.

In FIG. 9 of the drawing, I have shown the manner in which an escutcheon of conventional appearance may be attached to the cylinder body 5. In this instance, the escutcheon, indicated at 39, includes a substantially fiat disc 40 of greater diameter than the cylinder body 5 and having the usual bevelled edge. The disc contains a pair of holes 41-41 which extend therethrough in an axial direction and are countersunk at their outer ends. Said holes receive studs 42-42 having tapered heads 43-43 adapted to seat in the countersunk portions, and said studs are retained on the escutcheon by a decorative Scalp 44 which is applied to the disc 40 in a conventional manner and overlies the heads 43-43. The studs 42-42 extend through the openings 26-26 in the webs 10-10 of the cylinder body and into the notches 9-9 therein and adjacent their inner ends carry the retaining rings 28-28 which support the inner ends of the compression springs 27-27 employed to bias the escutcheon 39 against the outer end -of the cylinder body, all as previously described. The escutcheon 39 is identical to the escutcheon of FIGS. 1 to 8 in all other respects and functions in the same manner and no further explanation of the modified lock cylinder is therefore believed to be necessary.

It will thus be apparent that in addition to facilitating the installation of a lock cylinder, my invention permits the use of escutcheons -of an infinite variety of different designs with a cylinder body of standard construction. This is extremely important since there is a tendency today to have all of the hardware on a door of the same design thereby enhancing the appearance of the door. Were it not for my invention, it Would be necessary to provide a separate lock cylinder for every escutcheon design desired.

While I have herein shown and described my invention in What I have conceived to be the most practical and preerred embodiments, it is recognized that departures may be made 'therefrom within the scope of my invention,

which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein, but is to be accorded the full scope of the appended claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent structures.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In a look cylinder, a cylinder body having an inner and an outer end, a key plug positioned in said cylinder and a keyway opening at the outer end of said plug, an escutcheon overlying said outer end -of said cylinder body and having a portion defining an inwardly facing radial flange surrounding said cylinder body, said escutcheon having an opening therethrough providing access to said keyway, means including interengageable portions pro- Viding a connection between said cylinder body and said escutcheon permitting axial movement of said cylinder body relatively to said escutcheon but positively preventing any substantial relative rotation therebetween, and means yieldingly resisting such axial movement.

2. A look cylinder as set forth in claim 1, wherein said connection permits limited angular relative movement between said cylinder body and said escutcheon -to prevent undesirable binding between said escutcheon and said cylinder body.

3. A look cylinder as set forth in claim 1, wherein said means yieldingly resisting said axial movement comprises spring means.

4. In a look cylinder, a cylinder body, an escutcheon connected to said cylinder body and having a portion defining a flange disposed radially to and surrounding said cylinder body, the connection between said cylinder body and said escutcheon including a projection on one of said members slidable in an opening in the other of said members whereby to permit axial movement of said cylinder body relatively to said escutcheon but prevent relative rotation therebetween, and means yieldingly resisting such axial movement.

5. In a lock cylinder, a cylinder body, an escutcheon connected to said cylinder body and having an abutment surface defining a flange disposed radially to and surrounding said cylinder body, the means connecting said cylinder body and said escutcheon permitting axial movement of said cylinder body relatively to said escutcheon and including a stud on said escutcheon slidable in a hole in said cylinder body and a sprin-g acting between said stud and said cylinder body to yieldingly resist said axial movement.

6. The subject matter set forth in claim 5 wherein said hole is larger than said stud to permit relative angular movement of said cylinder body and said escutcheon.

7. In a look cylinder, a cylinder body, an escutcheon connected to said cylinder body and having an abutment surface defining a flange disposed radially to and surrounding said cylinder body, the means connecting said cylinder body and said escutcheon including a pair of opposed, radial webs on said cylinder body, each of which has a hole extending therethroughsubstantially parallel to the axis of said cylinder body, a pair of studs pr0jecting from said escutcheon, one of said studs extending through each of said holes whereby t0 permit axial movement of said cylinder body relatively to said escutcheon, and a spring acting between each of said studs and its respective Web yieldingly resist such movement.

-8. In a look cylinder, a cylinder body having transverse notches in the opposite .sides thereof forming a pair of oppositely extending, radial webs on said body, each of said webs having a hole extending therethrough substantially parallel to the axis of said cylinder body, an escutcheon connected to said cylinder body and having an abutment surface defining a flange disposed radially to and surrounding said cylinder body, the means connecting said cylinder body and said escutcheon including a pair of studs on said escutcheon, one of which extends through each of said holes and into its respective notch whereby to permit axial movement of said cylinder body relatively to said escutcheon, means providing an abutment on the portion of each stud in its respective notch, and a compression spring surrounding each stud between said abutment and its respective web and acting to yieldingly resist axial movement of said cylinder body relatively to said escutcheon.

9. In a look cylinder, a cylinder body, a key-plug rotatably mounted in said cylinder body and projecting from the outer end thereof, an escutcheon overlying said outer end of the cylinder body and having an abutment surface defining an inwardly facing flange surrounding said cylinder body, said escutcheon having an opening therethrough receiving the projecting portion of said keyplug, a connection between said cylinder body and said escutcheon permitting inward axial movement of said cylinder body relatively to said escutcheon, and means yieldingly resisting such movement.

10. The subject matter set forth in claim 9 wherein said escutcheon is provided With a recess and said cylinder body has a boss projecting from said outer end thereof into said recess, whereby to retain said cylinder body and said escutcheon in proper alignment and prevent the sides of the opening in said escutcheon from binding on the projecting portion of said key-plug.

11. The subject mater set forth in claim 10 wherein said boss encircles said keyplug and said opening in said escutcheon is counter-bored to form said recess.

12. In a look cylinder, a cylinder body having a threaded inner end portion to permit attachment thereof to the casing of a locking device, said cylinder body having transverse notches in the opposite sides thereof forming oppositely extending, radial webs at the outer end of said cylinder body, each of said webs having a hole extending therethrou-gh substantially parallel to the axis of said cylinder body, a key-plug -rotatably mounted in said cylinder body and projecting from said outer end thereof, an escutcheon overlying said outer end of the cylinder body and having an abutment surface defining an inwardly facing flange surrounding said cylinder body, said escutcheon having an opening therethrough reeeiving the projeeting portion of said key-plug, a pair of studs affixed to said escutcheon and extending inwardly therefrom through said holes and into said notches, whereby t0 permit inward axial movement of said cylinder body relatively to said escutcheon, a retaining member affixed to each of said studs inwardly of its respective web, and a compression spring surrounding each of said studs between the retaining member thereon and the inner side of its respective web and normally biasing said escutcheon against said outer end of the cylinder body.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 409,246 8/ 1889 Severance 70-3 81 770,266 9/ 1904 Crandall 70381 1,479,726 1/ 1924 Maxwell 70-381 2,563,950 8/1951 Martin 70452 FOREIGN PATENTS 72,439 11/1959 France. 375,550 6/ 1932 Great Britain. 414,854 8/ 1934 Great Britain.

BOBBY R. GAY, Prmary Examiner.

ALBERT H. KAMPE, JOSEPH D. SEERS, Examiners.

P. TEITELBAUM, Assistant Examiner. 

5. IN A LOCK CYLINDER, A CYLINDER BODY, AN ESCUTCHEON CONNECTED TO SAID CYLINDER BODY AND HAVING AN ABUTMENT SURFACE DEFINING A FLANGE DISPOSED RADIALLY TO AND SURROUNDING SAID CYLINDER BODY, THE MEANS CONNECTING SAID CYLINDER BODY AND SAID ESCUTCHEON PERMITTING AXIAL MOVEMENT OF SAID CYLINDER BODY RELATIVELY TO SAID ESCUTCHEON AND INCLUDING A STUD ON SAID ESCUTCHEON SLIDABLE IN A HOLE IN SAID CYLINDER BODY AND A SPRING ACTING BETWEEN SAID STUD AND SAID CYLINDER BODY TO YIELDINGLY RESIST SAID AXIAL MOVEMENT. 